The horrific terrorist attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand have inspired thoughtful reflection on the effects of anti-Muslim rhetoric, but it’s also, somehow, inspired hateful doubling down. One public figure who did not offer even the minimal “thoughts and prayers” was Frasier Anning, an Australian senator with a history of targeting immigrants. Anning went in front of cameras to blame the Muslims victims for inspiring the wrath of white supremacists, calling them “the real cause of bloodshed.”
So it was, for some, fairly satisfying to see Anning get hit in the back of the head with an egg by a teen.
https://twitter.com/Henry_Belot/status/1106790914414919681
The incident called to mind the famous video of bigot king Richard Spencer being cold-cocked by a random passerby on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration. The difference, though, was Anning then immediately punched his egg-wielding assailant in the face, only to fall down while others tried to restrain him. The teen was dubbed “eggboy” and called a hero for standing up to prejudice in the loopiest way possible.
One person who was not smitten with Eggboy? Dean Cain. Yes, the least of the former Supermans. Cain played the Man of Steel on ABC’s modestly-liked ’90s show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and has since enjoyed a second life as an outspoken Hollywood conservative, regularly going on Fox News to support Brett Kavanaugh and appearing in far-right movies like God’s Not Dead and Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer. (That’s in between Hallmark fare like The Dog Who Saved Summer.)
One must never mistake an actor for their most popular role — see: Kelsey Grammer — and in case anyone confused Cain with a do-gooding alien, the actor, tweeting late night Saturday, removed all doubt.
I would have knocked that kid cold.
— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) March 17, 2019
Those who weren’t aware that the former Clark Kent was neither holier than holy nor a very good journalist received a rude awakening.
https://twitter.com/Lexialex/status/1107266842031091712
Dean Cain providing us with reason #9,425 why we need a female president: pic.twitter.com/GTTcxOuidV
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) March 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/thalestral/status/1107275378765242370
Lori Loughin is bribing college officials and Dean Cain is assaulting minors.
Fuck video games being a bad influence…
I call for the Hallmark Channel to be cancelled.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) March 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/PhilNobileJr/status/1107353972547948545
Dean Cain’s boast that he would have knocked out a teenager led me to his bio, starts off with some fun alliteration but oddly finishes with him calling himself stupid pic.twitter.com/pE6f57Z2mV
— Paul F. Tompkins (@PFTompkins) March 17, 2019
This says all we need to know about dean cain pic.twitter.com/d5BgLwkfNE
— Zack (@ladnerdude) March 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/tonyposnanski/status/1107301656176312321
Dean Cain is making sure everybody understands that people who play superheroes can still be racist assholes.
— Hank Pattison Ω☠ (@HLHPattison) March 17, 2019
me remembering that dean cain is literally a board member in the nra and yet he still played superman, aka the one character who is against EVERYTHING dean cain stands for: pic.twitter.com/fnyMuCWeYD
— nada. // sporadic activity. (@thesunkinq) March 17, 2019
Legacy castings were a huge thing on Smallville. Terrence Stamp played Zor-El. Christopher Reeve as a kindly philanthropist. Helen Slater as Superman's Kryptonian mom Lara. Etc.
Apropos of nothing, Dean Cain played an ageless Nazi surgeon who confesses to being Jack the Ripper. pic.twitter.com/TXWrjayCrL
— zeddy (@Zeddary) March 17, 2019
You mean Fox commenter Dean Cain, super right wing Dean Cain, liberals are demented Dean Cain? Yeah he’s that guy. pic.twitter.com/uYOt6QCbWq
— Tiny DeMarco (@DeMarcoDraws) March 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/get_sili/status/1107246220664201216
https://twitter.com/rl_bobby/status/1107246187592089600
https://twitter.com/david_s_barker/status/1107241404781285377
People also noticed Cain went on a bit of a blocking storm.
That's okay… I'll put you in the #INSTABLOCK bin – https://t.co/DQVwfa4i8T
— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) March 17, 2019
Dean Cain's real kryptonite is his hurt feelings. pic.twitter.com/6Izyc2vlvl
— Chris Brosnahan (@ChrisBrosnahan) March 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/timbyrnes89/status/1107233492344033280
And so wraps up one of the saddest but also one of the strangest weeks in memory. Could anyone have imagined, last Sunday, that Aunt Becky from Full House would have been involved in a college admissions scam and that the Superman you forgot existed would have bragged about beating up a teen? Once more, this is the weirdest timeline.